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You argued that there will be continued growth of Spanish usage as the Hispanic population continues to grow. You then referenced (and offered your approval) to a post that challenges your position by stating that English will become the primary language of the Hispanic population in this country. If that isn't a contradiction, please tell me what is.
Now, after being called on your contradiction, you are trying to backtrack by claiming Spanish usage is not "specific to" immigrants? Are you now suggesting the "continued growth of the Hispanic population" will be due to Hispanic tourists or other Hispanic foreign nationals here on a temporary basis? I didn't realize they were included in our continued population growth. Do tell. Surely, you can do better than this.
Allow me to again refresh your memory. . .
Spanish usage is going to continue to grow...
The Hispanic population will also continue to grow...
I live in the Southwest, I am a New Mexico native. Certainly all of the Spanish I have ever heard around here didn't come from illegal aliens, or even those that were descended from illegal immigrants. To this day, I am not aware of anyone around me to be an illegal alien.
I'm not talking in mutually exclusive terms, I don't know why that is so hard to comprehend...
From what I've read, you need to put your sympathy in your illegal alien rainy day family fund. I'm not the one living hand to mouth while trying to stay one step ahead of la migra in other people's country.
Another edit, another inference that you are reading something about my family's finances. For those not aware, the VA specifies that you fill out an annual financial declaration (covering the income of all household members), so that non-service related treatment can be categorized anywhere from being fully covered to requiring full payment. As I stated earlier, it's been years since I've used the VA for treatment, but now I start to profoundly wonder (both times that data has been lost that could compromise me to credit fraud, it has been from the VA) how easily that data could be accessed by someone that learned my name.
It's fine to learn Spanish - but in the USA it's not going to get you all that far unless you want to work in a welfare office or call center. I live in a Spanish speaking city -- but the highest paid people here speak English, the very lowest paid speak Spanish.
I fully agree.
I live in such a city as well.
Allentown PA for 20 years has had a tidal wave of Puerto Rican's moving here in an attempt to escape the high cost of living in NYC and Northern NJ.
Allentowns downtown called Center City houses the majority of those Puerto Rican's that have moved here.
The crime rate including murder, rape, gang and drug violations overwhelmingly happen within the Center City area.
Puerto Rican's moving here from Puerto Rico make up the majority of the Spanish only speaking residents here and as a result have caused the overwheming amount of problems having to do with language barriers.
The unemployment rate for the Puerto Rican population in Allentown is much higher and tends to be very long term than for the rest of the cities population including blacks.
As a result you have a massive drain on city and county services without reimbursement.
You will hear the word's " Speak Spanish? " uttered everywhere here.
Large populations of Puerto Rican's refuse to learn English and have made this known to the rest of the cities population.
Outside Center City the rest of Allentown and the outlying areas are very white, well educated as a whole and the two cultures together sometimes make for a very stark comparison not only in skin culture but in educational attainment, cultural norms, number of offspring and net worth.
Because of this there is a tense and uneasy balance between cultures.
You'll see these cultures mix at different retail environments like the Lehigh Valley Mall where I overheard a woman tell her companion after hearing a diatribe in Spanish "" You'll always know who the underclass are just by listening "".
The Hispanic population will also continue to grow...
I live in the Southwest, I am a New Mexico native. Certainly all of the Spanish I have ever heard around here didn't come from illegal aliens, or even those that were descended from illegal immigrants. To this day, I am not aware of anyone around me to be an illegal alien.
I'm not talking in mutually exclusive terms, I don't know why that is so hard to comprehend...
It is hard to comprehend when on one hand you claim that Spanish usage will continue to grow while on the other hand you agree with someone who says quite the opposite.
I speak Spanish, but don't feel in the USA I should be required to speak Spanish. Yet someone accused me of being racist because of that.
So making generalizations about other races and women is fine but not wanting to speak Spanish is racist.
I feel exactly the same way. Since I'm noticeably mexican american, some mexican nationals will start speaking Spanish to me. I refuse them just for the assumption that I should speak Spanish just because of my ethnicity/skin color. I do speak Spanish willingly for work purposes. Some work places will actually shoulder more work on people if they know that they speak spanish without compensating them more for their skill while the monolinguistic people enjoy their breaks.
I feel exactly the same way. Since I'm noticeably mexican american, some mexican nationals will start speaking Spanish to me. I refuse them just for the assumption that I should speak Spanish just because of my ethnicity/skin color. I do speak Spanish willingly for work purposes. Some work places will actually shoulder more work on people if they know that they speak spanish without compensating them more for their skill while the monolinguistic people enjoy their breaks.
Why would any business shoulder more work on those who are bi-lingual English/Spanish speakers? That makes no sense to me. Is it perhaps because they have been fed the propaganda that the illegal kind work harder so they think that transcends to Mexican-Americans also? No ethnic group holds the corner on the market for hard work ethics. The illegal kind just appear to be that way because they are afraid of being deported.
Allentown PA for 20 years has had a tidal wave of Puerto Rican's moving here in an attempt to escape the high cost of living in NYC and Northern NJ.
Allentowns downtown called Center City houses the majority of those Puerto Rican's that have moved here.
The crime rate including murder, rape, gang and drug violations overwhelmingly happen within the Center City area.
Puerto Rican's moving here from Puerto Rico make up the majority of the Spanish only speaking residents here and as a result have caused the overwheming amount of problems having to do with language barriers.
The unemployment rate for the Puerto Rican population in Allentown is much higher and tends to be very long term than for the rest of the cities population including blacks.
As a result you have a massive drain on city and county services without reimbursement.
You will hear the word's " Speak Spanish? " uttered everywhere here.
Large populations of Puerto Rican's refuse to learn English and have made this known to the rest of the cities population.
Outside Center City the rest of Allentown and the outlying areas are very white, well educated as a whole and the two cultures together sometimes make for a very stark comparison not only in skin culture but in educational attainment, cultural norms, number of offspring and net worth.
Because of this there is a tense and uneasy balance between cultures.
You'll see these cultures mix at different retail environments like the Lehigh Valley Mall where I overheard a woman tell her companion after hearing a diatribe in Spanish "" You'll always know who the underclass are just by listening "".
That statement speaks volumes.
Considering that Puerto Ricans are US Citizens by birth and are taught English on the island I seriously doubt the problems that plague Allentown's Puerto Rican's population have nothing to do with language. It has to do with their socio-economic status instead but language xenephobes think that if they magically learn "English" those problems will disappear. I could only imagine what you think of blacks too.
Considering that Puerto Ricans are US Citizens by birth and are taught English on the island I seriously doubt the problems that plague Allentown's Puerto Rican's population have nothing to do with language. It has to do with their socio-economic status instead but language xenephobes think that if they magically learn "English" those problems will disappear. I could only imagine what you think of blacks too.
This specific story certainly doesn't trace to any connection with illegal immigration as well. But an unknowing outsider, coming across the same situation may assume the Spanish-speakers are illegal aliens instead. How many Hispanic Legal Permanent Residents and U.S. citizens are being unknowing identified from a distance as "illegals"?
This brings me back to a story I have told before. A woman goes through my wife's cashier line to pay for her purchases by personal check. Following store policy, my wife asks for her driver's license to write down the number on the check. The woman complies, but later my wife is called into the office.
The customer has left the store, but calls to say my wife attempted to "steal her identity" (she heard my wife's accent, and made an assumption). Of course the office did not hold the customer on the phone (or tell her my wife's legal resident status), they simply said they would "handle it", and then called my wife in. They then created an adjustment on the fly: My wife was to call the floor CSR every time after that ANY customer was paying by personal check to complete the transaction.
The customer still probably thinks they helped catch an identity thief. Worse still, if she returned to the store later (my wife did work there for several months after the incident), she thinks the store is turning a blind eye to it. Word of mouth goes around - "That store hires illegal aliens that try to steal your identity!" - and another myth gets perpetrated further.
Rather than trying to reject these stories, it needs to be realized with how they are mistakenly cycled from person to person, who knows how far it will go...
Why would any business shoulder more work on those who are bi-lingual English/Spanish speakers? That makes no sense to me. Is it perhaps because they have been fed the propaganda that the illegal kind work harder so they think that transcends to Mexican-Americans also? No ethnic group holds the corner on the market for hard work ethics. The illegal kind just appear to be that way because they are afraid of being deported.
I was 1 of 4 who used to work in a member services call unit for a Medi-Cal HMO in southern California. Two spoke absolutely no Spanish, one fluent and I spoke broken spanish. The fluent one got stuck with the most difficult calls (the illegal immigrant mothers with american born children) while the white girls didn't. I felt like I should have never given them the idea that I spoke ANY spanish because it made my workload a little heavier.
This specific story certainly doesn't trace to any connection with illegal immigration as well. But an unknowing outsider, coming across the same situation may assume the Spanish-speakers are illegal aliens instead. How many Hispanic Legal Permanent Residents and U.S. citizens are being unknowing identified from a distance as "illegals"?
This brings me back to a story I have told before. A woman goes through my wife's cashier line to pay for her purchases by personal check. Following store policy, my wife asks for her driver's license to write down the number on the check. The woman complies, but later my wife is called into the office.
The customer has left the store, but calls to say my wife attempted to "steal her identity" (she heard my wife's accent, and made an assumption). Of course the office did not hold the customer on the phone (or tell her my wife's legal resident status), they simply said they would "handle it", and then called my wife in. They then created an adjustment on the fly: My wife was to call the floor CSR every time after that ANY customer was paying by personal check to complete the transaction.
The customer still probably thinks they helped catch an identity thief. Worse still, if she returned to the store later (my wife did work there for several months after the incident), she thinks the store is turning a blind eye to it. Word of mouth goes around - "That store hires illegal aliens that try to steal your identity!" - and another myth gets perpetrated further.
Rather than trying to reject these stories, it needs to be realized with how they are mistakenly cycled from person to person, who knows how far it will go...
Wow what a story to say the least! I'm surprised your wife stayed for months after such a humiliating experience. I guess this customer thinks that only "illegals" steal other people's identities!
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